Improvement in vehicle-axles



P. B. LASKEY & W. ARNOLD. Vehlcle-Axle Patented July 1, I879.

gr Illa PHILIP L'ASKEY AND WILLIAM ARNOLD, OF MARBLEHEAD,

UNITED STATES PATENT Orrion MASS.

IMPROVEMENT IN VEHICLE-AXLES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N0..217,012, dated July 1, 1879; application filed May 8, 1879.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that we, PHILIP B. LASKEY and WILLIAMARNOLD, both of Marblehead, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new-and useful Improvements in Carriage-Axles and Sand-Boxes therefor, of which the following, taken in connection with the .accompanying drawings, is a specification.

Our invention relates to the construction of carriage-axles and san d-boxes connected therewith; and has for its object the complete Inbrication of the axle," greater durability of the same, a convenient and comparatively inexpensive means of compensating, in a great measure, for the wear of the parts, and a more perfect exclusion of dirt or grit from the bearing-surfaces; and it consists, first, in the combination, with a carriage-axle, of a sand box or shield adapted to overhang and partially surround the inner end of the Wheel-hub, secured thereon in a fixed position by means of screw-threads formed therein and upon said axle, and provided with an annular chamber surrounding said axle at or near. the end of the hub-bearing having the largest diameter and means of introducing a supply of oil to said chamber.- g

It further consists in the combination of a carriage-axle provided upon, itsunder side with a groove or channel extending longitudinally thereof from near the largerend of the hub-bearin g toward the smaller end of the axle and a sand box or shield adapted to overhang and partially surround the innerend of the Wheelhub,- and provided with an annular chamber to hold oil and secured to said axle in a fixed position by means of a'screw-thread formed upon said axle, as will be further described.

It further consists in the combination of a sand box or shield adapted to overhang and partially surround the wheel-hub, secured in a fixed position upon a carriageaxle, and pro vided with an oil reservoir or chamber, and a sleeve or tube projecting therefrom toward the smaller end of the axle-bearing and fitting closely to said axle, to form a portion of the hub-bearing at that point where the greatest wear usually takes place-via, that portion of said hub-bearin g havin g-the greatest diameter.

a male screw thread formed It further consists in the combination, with a sand box or shield provided with an oilreservoir or chamber and a sleeve to encompass a portion of the axle and form a part of the bearing for the hub, of a groove or channel formed in the under side of the axle and extending longitudinally thereof from a point within the oil-chamber to a point beyond the sleeve, that portion of said groove which is within the oil-chamber, and where the oil is taken up, being contracted at the outer surface of the axle to a much narrower width than the inner portion of said groove is made, so that dirt orlforeign matter will not readily be drawn into said groove, but if any small particles should enter. they will be carried through said groove, and not lodge therein and choke it and prevent the supply of the requisite quantity of oil to keep the axle-bearin g in good running order.

It further consists in the combination, with a carriage-axle, of a sand box or shield provided with an oil-chamber, a sleeve inclosing said axle and forming a portion of the bearing for the Wheel-hub, and an annular lip or short inwardly-projecting cylinder adapted to encompass the contiguous end of the hubbox and form a second guard against the introduction of sand or grit to the bearing of the wheel upon the axle and help to retain the oil, all formed in one piece and secured in a fixed position on the axle by means of a screwthread formed thereon.

It further consists in the combination of a carriage-axle having a shoulder formed near its outer end by turning down the outer portion thereof to a smaller diameter, and having portion of said reduced part, while the extreme outer part thereof is cylindrical in form and of a diameter just equal to the diameter of the threaded portion at the bottoms of the threads,

a nut having a thread cut through only a portion of its thickness, and two or more washers placed between said nut and the shoulder on the axle, as will be more fully described.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a central longitudinal section of our improved sand-box, showing the axle in elevation. Fig. 2 isa transverse section on line A B. Fig. 3 is a transverse section on line 0 D. Fig. 4 is a similar upon the inner section on'line E F; and Fig. 5 is a partial central longitudinal section, showing the position of the nut after the box has worn, so as to require the removal of all of the washers.

G is the axle, constructed in the usual manner, except that it is provided with a male screw-thread, a, to receive the sand-box H, has the extreme outer end of its nut-receiving stud bturned smooth, as shown, and has formed in its under side a groove or channel, 0, which will be more fully described.

The sand box or shield His provided with a screw-thread to fit the thread con the axle, by- Which it is firmly secured thereto, and with the taper sleeve d, which fits closely the axle G, and projects into and forms a portion of the bearing for the box I of the hub I. Shown in dotted lines. (A chamber, J, is formed in the sand box or shield H to be filled with oil for lubricating the axle, said oil being introduced through an aperture in the top of said box, which is closed by the screw-plug e, as shown.

The under side of the axle has formed therein the channel or groove 0, extending longitudinally thereof from the oil-chamber J to a point outside of the outer end of the to serve as a conduit for the passage of oil from said chamber to the central portion of the hubbearing, that portion of said groove or conduit which is within the chamber J being made narrower at the surface of the axle than it is nearer the center of the axle, for the purpose of preventing any foreign substances which may happen to be in the oil passing into the bearing.

The face of the sand-box and oil-chamber contiguous to the inner end of the wheel-hub is provided with the shoulder g to take the endwise thrust, and with the annular projectin g lip h, which fits into a corresponding groove formed in the end of thehub I, just outadditional security against the introduction of grit to the hub-bearing.

L is the nut for securing the wheel upon the axle, having a thread in a portion of its length, and the remaining portion of the hole through it left smooth, and adapted to fit closely the cylindrical outer portion-of the stud I), while its thread fits a corresponding male thread cut on the inner portion of the stud b, said nut that the nut may be set with its outer face flush with the end of the stud b, with thewashers it; placed between it and the shoulder j ofthe axle G, as shown in Fig. 1; or, when the shoulder g on the sand-box and the end of the hubbox I become worn, said nut can be screwed up to bear against the shoulder j by first removing the washers t' i, as shown in Fig. 5.

By the use of our improvements the axle may be kept well lubricated with very little trouble, it being completely self-oiling as long as the supply of oil contained in the chamber J lasts, and when the supply is exhausted it can be renewed without removing the wheel from the axle. The bearing is much more sehub, means .chamber or reservoir to contain oil, side of the box I, as shown in Fig. 1, as an 1 Q riage,

cure against the introduction of sand orgrit than heretofore and when the box or axle becomes badly worn, so as to affect the running of the wheel, the wear can be taken upby removing one or 'more of the washers z i, and removing the sandbox with its sleeve and replacing itby another, which can be done at a comparatively small cost.

The greater part of the wear of carriageaxles comes upon the larger orinner end of the bearing, and when the axle becomes badly worn at that point it becomes necessary to take the axle to the bl acksmiths and have the axlespindles cut off and new ones welded on, which is a very expensive job, and one which is entirely obviated by the use of our improvement, as the bulk of the wear comes upon the sleeve of the sand-box, and when it becomes badly worn its removal leaves the axle as large and strong as it was originally, and a new sleeve can be substituted forthe old for a small cost,

they being made in steel castings, and finished to be interchangeable.

What we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In combination with the axle of a cara sandbox or shield adapted to overhang and partially surround the inner end of the wheel-hub, secured in a fixed position thereon by means of screw-threads formed therein and upon the axle, and provided with i an annular chamber adapted to contain oil for lubricating the axle-bearing, substantially as 1 described.

2. In combination with a carriage-axle, a

i sand box or shield adapted to overhang and partially surround the inner end of the wheelsecured in a fixed position thereon by of screw-threads formed therein and upon the axle, and provided with an annular and a groove or channel formed in the under side of :1 the axle and extending longitudinally thereof,

substantially as described. I

3. In combination with the axle of a cara sand box or shield adapted to overhang and partially surround the inner end of the wheel-hub, provided with a sleeve inclosing the axle and projecting into and forming a portion of the bearing for the hub of the carriage-wheel, substantially as described. and stud being constructed in such a manner 1 4. The combination of the axle'G, sand box i or shield H, oil-chamber J, the sleeve (1, and

the groove or channel 0, extending from the chamber J to beyond the outer end of the sleeve (1, substantially as described.

5. In combination with the axle of a carriage, the sand box or shield H, oil-chamber J, sleeve 61, and annular lip or rib h, all formed in one piece and secured in a fixed position on the axle by means of a screw-thread formed on said axle, substantially as and for the purposes described.

6. In combination with an annular oil tank or chamber surrounding a carriage-axle, and adapted to supply oil for lubrication, the groove or channel 0, formed in the under side of the axle, and having that portion thereof which is within the oil-chamber contracted, substantially as and for the purposes described. 7. The carriage-axle G, provided with the shoulder j and the threadedstud b, the outer portion of WhiCh.lS made in the form of a smooth cylinder, in combination with the nut L, provided ii ith a smooth hole through a portion of its thickness and a screw thread through the remaining portion of its thickness,

- substantially as and for the purposes described.

8. The carriage-axle G, provided with the shoulder j and the threaded stud b, the outer portion of which is made in the form ofa smooth cylinder, in combination with the nut L, provided with a smooth hole through a portion of its thickness and a screw thread through the remaining portion of its thickness, and the Washers z 2', all arranged substantially as and for thelpurposes described.

Executed at Boston, Massachusetts, this 5th day of May, A. D. 1879. Y

PHILIP B. LASKEY. WILLIAM ARNOLD.

Witnesses:

N. C. LOMBARD, E. A. HEMMZENWAY. 

